Off Topic - It's About Piloting

We did the grandparents run from mid Michigan to Port Clinton, Ohio to see
the third generation child just back from summer camp... We might have gone
Saturday afternoon and spent the night but by the time we got free from the
office the thunder bumpers were backed up nose to tail all across the Great
Southern Michigan and Northern Ohio CB Railway... Leaving KHYX Sunday
morning, Fat Albert humped his bulky carcass up to 5500 to take advantage of
the southerly air flow... At 55% power he was having a fling with 144 knots
over the ground most of the way... We skirted Flint and Ann Arbor to the
west side and hung a left at the SW corner of Detroit's B and drew a mental
arrow across Lake Erie to KPCW... Beginning a 250 fpm cruise descent the
ground speed jumped up nicely... We were half way across the west end of
Lake Erie before the PIC realized that he was going to punch right through
the restricted area north of the nuclear plant... You know the nuke that
doesn't exist any more in order to foil terrorists flying a 172 that might
punch through 8 feet of reinforced concrete... &*^%$*# mutter, mumble,
idiots... We opted to angle south of the plant for the least amount of
deviation...

Finally down to 2000 and closing on the airport we listened to a plane
departing call runway 27 as the active... Hmmm, said sub concious brain,
must be a wind shift down there... Concious brain was busy doing a soft
shoe with tap and whistle, and all cognitive processes in neutral... As we
swept across the field boundary for a picture perfect entry into the
downwind, concious brain finally engaged MKI eyeballs and keenly noted that
the wind tee was defiantly pointed at 060... Hmmmmm?
The most embarassing part was that two following aircraft had noted my radio
position and intention calls and were obediently lining up to follow me 2
miles back... Oh well, confession is good for the soul... Hanging a hard
left across the mid field to join the 'new' downwind leg we went charging
straight into the oncoming pack... Scattered em like chickens in the hen
yard, heh, heh, heh... Steady cross wind made for a satisfying 3 squeaker
arrival...

Leaving PCW to go back north that night the wind was a frisky 20 knots from
due north ... I opted to stop the climb at 2000 and set cruise power at
75%... Going north west we were seeing 128 knots... After making the turn
to the north it dropped to 119 knots... mutter, mumble - pay backs are
hell... Oh well, by staying low I could cut the corner under the shelf of
Detroit's B, duck through the 1 mile wide alley between Ann Arbor and Willow
Run (yes, the Willow Run of WWII B-24 fame) and shorten the route a bit...
Surprisingly the return run only took 10 minutes more than the run south...

Going early in the morning and staying high we didn't pick up any bugs...
Coming back right at dark, down low, the plane looked like the radiator on a
Peterbilt at a Union 76 truck stop... I'll be scrubbing bugs for days...

Cheers ... Denny

Nice post, Denney.

I trust you also avoided the restricted area north of Camp Perry, R5502,
which I understand is sometimes used for firing practise!

As far as I know, I did...
Denny
"pilotjww" wrote in message
...
Nice post, Denney.

I trust you also avoided the restricted area north of Camp Perry, R5502,
which I understand is sometimes used for firing practise!